Scots referee Hugh Dallas was at the centre of a row last night
after red carding TWO players in Belgium's 2-2 draw with Mexico.

But the Bonkle whistler was gagged and unable to defend himself
against allegations made on TV that he over reacted.

Dallas said: "The World Cup organising committee's
instructions on speaking about games in which they are involved are very
specific.

"I will attend a de-briefing in Paris and until that has taken
place I am not allowed to make any comment.

"All I can say is that it was a difficult match to handle
because of the intense heat in Bordeaux. The temperature inside the
ground was near to boiling point. It was the warmest I have known since
I started as a referee.

"But both sets of players shook my hand at the end. Sometimes
a match can look different on television from the way it does when you
are inside the ground."

That explanation was clearly unacceptable to TV pundit Alan Hansen and Leicester City manager Martin O'Neill.

They rubbished the ref's dismissal of Mexican Pavel Pardo for
a tackle from behind and laughed off the red card shown to Gert Verheyen
when he conceded a penalty to Mexico.

But former Rangers and England star Trevor Steven, who watched the
game for French TV, said: "I thought all his decisions were correct
and easily justified.

"I remember him from my time at Ibrox and I thought then that
he was a good referee.

"He did what he had to do under the circumstances as far as I
can see."

Red carded Mexican Pardo said: "I was stunned. I thought the
referee was going to pull out a yellow card."

Verheyen was also unhappy with his sending-off and said: "I
can't argue with the penalty but I was surprised by the red
card."

Dehydration was clearly a problem for Dallas. He drank as many
bottles of water as he could handle at half-time and was allowed to go
to the touchline for more liquids when there was a break in second- half
play.

But he said: "The whole day was a fantastic experience for me.
It is now up to FIFA whether or not I get another game."

MATCH REPORT: PAGE 60

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